RFK Jr presses Joe Rogan over criticism of ICE, slams media narrative

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr directly challenged Joe Rogan over his recent criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the latest episode of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, pushing back on the host’s concerns about immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.

During the Friday, February 27, episode, Kennedy addressed Rogan’s earlier remarks about ICE’s tactics in Minnesota, where protests had flared earlier this year. The conversation quickly turned pointed, with Kennedy defending the agency and suggesting that media coverage had amplified fear.

“I know that’s something that’s disturbed you,” Kennedy told Rogan, referring to his reaction to ICE operations.

Robert F Kennedy Jr defends ICE and faults media narrative

Kennedy argued that ICE agents were not acting randomly or targeting people without cause.

According to him, the agency has been focused on “particular people” whose names were provided by “local law enforcement and others.”

He rejected the idea that agents were indiscriminately sweeping through neighborhoods.

“Nobody is happy with the way that things have looked, particularly in Minnesota,” Kennedy said. “But a lot of it is because of this capacity of the press to take Trump Derangement Syndrome and amplify it into public outrage.”

Kennedy’s remarks framed the backlash not as a response to enforcement itself, but as a reaction shaped by media coverage.

He maintained that ICE was not “just randomly searching restaurants,” pushing back against viral narratives that painted the agency as heavy-handed.

The secretary’s tone was measured but firm, signaling that he believed the criticism had spiraled beyond the facts on the ground.

Joe Rogan walks back on some criticism, but stands by concerns over militarized presence

Rogan had previously expressed unease over the optics and execution of ICE operations. 

Back in January, when tensions in Minneapolis were rising, he acknowledged the need to address illegal immigration but questioned how enforcement was carried out.

“You don’t want militarized people in the streets just roaming around, snatching up people, many of which turn out to be US citizens that just don’t have their papers on them,” Rogan said at the time. “Are we really going to be the Gestapo? ‘Where’s your papers?’ Is that what we’ve come to?”

He also pointed to an incident in which a woman was shot, saying it worsened public perception. “After that woman was shot, I think unfortunately — well, everything is unfortunate about it, right? But one of the real problems is now ICE are villains, and now people are looking at them like murderous military people that are on the streets of our cities and they’re masked up, which is also a problem.”

On the latest episode, Rogan walked back some of his earlier criticism.

He told Kennedy that he believed protests against ICE were “not organic,” suggesting they had been “organized and paid for.”

Still, Rogan did not completely abandon his concerns.

Rogan acknowledged Kennedy’s argument that ICE was targeting specific criminals but said the public reaction was understandable given the optics.

“I know you’re saying that they don’t, that they’re targeting specific people, they’re going after bad people,” he said. “But also they’re showing up at Home Depot and just grabbing people, too.”